All the Games You Play
by FleurHartz
Summary: Ch 7 UP Seth and Summer share a late-night kiss on a road trip, and both have to deal with the ramifications of what it means for them and to themselves. Summer learns denial's a tricky thing, and Seth decides women are very confusing.
1. Let the Games Begin

A/N- Hey everyone-this is my first contribution to O.C. fanfiction. I lurrrve this show so much, and am so happy it finally has a story section! Keep 'em coming everybody! The pairing in this story is Summer/Seth.  
  
Disclaimer- All characters from The O.C. belong to Fox, the lyrics belong to "The Game" by Trapt.  
  
All the Games We Play  
  
~*~  
  
Seth Cohen finished washing his face, looking around the dingy, badly lit bathroom. Classy place, he laughed to himself. He, Ryan, Marissa, and Summer had decided to take a little road trip before school officially started. It had actually been very fun thus far, despite the longing glances between Ryan and Marissa. Those got a little old. Seth hated when people weren't honest about how they felt. He smiled to himself. He had always made it perfectly clear how he felt about Summer- it was her feelings that were the problem. But she had solemnly sworn to Marissa to put aside her constant hostility this week, and Seth suddenly realized how much fun they could have when she wasn't constantly berating him. Not that that wasn't a little fun as well. But this was much better.  
  
  
  
Suddenly, Seth was snapped out of his reverie when the ajar door to the bathroom swung open.  
  
  
  
"Oh, sorry-" Summer went to close the door again.  
  
  
  
"It's all right, I just needed to brush my teeth. There's two sinks." Seth shrugged, getting out his toothbrush.  
  
  
  
Summer opened the door again, smiling slightly at him. Seth suddenly realized he was in nothing but boxers.  
  
  
  
"I didn't think anyone was still awake." Seth flushed slightly, looking down at his clothes, or lack thereof.  
  
  
  
"It's fine. You've seen me shirtless enough, it's my turn." Summer smiled teasingly, getting out her toothbrush from a lacy zipper bag.  
  
  
  
"True." Seth grinned back, feeling his heart beat a little faster as she stood closer to him to turn on the water to her sink.  
  
  
  
They brushed in silence for a moment. After Summer finished, she primly wiped her mouth with a towel, pulling her hair back into a ponytail and looking somewhat thoughtful. Seth spit out his toothpaste, wiped his mouth as well and looked at her questioningly.  
  
  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
  
  
"Nothing's wrong." Summer shook her head.  
  
  
  
"Well, you're very morose expression says otherwise."  
  
  
  
Summer sighed with exasperation.  
  
  
  
"Geez, Cohen, why don't you just tie me down and shine a light in my eyes? It's none of your business if something's wrong."  
  
  
  
Seth rolled his eyes.  
  
  
  
Summer sighed, her face softening slightly.  
  
  
  
"I was just thinking…you're not like how I thought you'd be."  
  
  
  
"Me?" Seth looked shock that he was the cause of her morose-ness.  
  
  
  
"Yes."  
  
  
  
"How'd you think I would be?"  
  
  
  
"A total loser."  
  
  
  
"Ouch."  
  
  
  
"But that's what I'm saying- you're not. I've had a really good time with you this week, Seth." Summer sat on the counter as Seth leaned against the sink next to her.  
  
  
  
"Me too. With you, I mean." Seth stuttered slightly, wondering if he was just imagining this entire conversation.  
  
  
  
"We should really hang out more often." Summer said, grinning at Seth.  
  
  
  
"Oh, come on, Summer. You know as soon as we get back from this road trip, you'll ignore me again whenever your friends are around. And I'm not really into being "secret friends." Seth said somewhat sardonically.  
  
  
  
"I don't ignore you."  
  
  
  
"Yes, you do. You probably didn't even know my name until this road trip, and you only came because Marissa made you." Seth pointed out.  
  
  
  
"I know it now." Summer counter-pointed out.  
  
  
  
"Well, I guess that's something." Seth rolled his eyes.  
  
  
  
There was a long silence.  
  
  
  
"Seth, I'm sorry for being such a jerk to you." Summer finally said.  
  
  
  
"You mean that?" Seth turned to look at her.  
  
  
  
"Yes."  
  
  
  
"Really?" Seth raised his eyebrows.  
  
  
  
Summer took a deep breath instead of replying, slowly leaning towards him. Seth felt his pulse thud wildly in his throat. This wasn't really happening. Summer was not really about to kiss him.   
  
  
  
Her lips softly met his, and as soon as they did, Seth responded, deciding this was not a chance he was going to pass up. He kissed her back hard, his hands in her dark hair. Her mouth opened under his, her hands sliding up his back. It was a very long, passionate kiss once it got started, and once it ended, they were both a little shocked.  
  
  
  
Summer pulled back first, looking at Seth with wide, surprised eyes. She blinked, her surprise fading slightly, and her usual smug expression back on her face.  
  
  
  
"Now do you believe me?" She said in a slightly breathless tone.  
  
  
  
"I-I…" Seth just stood there stammering for a moment.  
  
  
  
"Good night, Seth Cohen." Summer slid off the corner, smiling back at him as she left the bathroom.  
  
~*~  
  
  
  
Seth woke up the next morning, seriously wondering if he had just dreamed the whole thing. He looked around his room, and saw Ryan sleeping soundly next to him. Summer and Marissa were in the adjoining room.  
  
  
  
"Ryan…wake up." Seth shook his shoulders, receiving a sleepy grunt in reply.  
  
  
  
Finally, Ryan rolled over, blinking sleepily.  
  
  
  
"What?" He asked groggily.  
  
  
  
"It's almost 8:00. We gotta get going, check-out time is 9:00." Seth told him, getting dressed.  
  
  
  
"All right, all right." Ryan rolled out of bed, starting to get dressed as well.  
  
  
  
Seth sat down on the bed, dying to tell Ryan what had happened last night. But he figured he should talk to Summer first.   
  
  
  
"Hey, Ryan,I'm going to go make sure the girls are up." Seth said suddenly, heading for the other room.  
  
  
  
He knocked.  
  
  
  
"Who is it?" He heard Marissa's voice.  
  
  
  
"Room service." He said in a horrible French accent.  
  
  
  
Suddenly the door opened to reveal Summer standing there in jeans and a pink tank top.  
  
  
  
"Can we talk?" He asked quietly.  
  
  
  
Summer sighed.  
  
  
  
"Coop, Seth and I are going to go…um…get some sodas for the trip."  
  
  
  
"All right." Marissa looked at Summer with a curious expression.  
  
~*~  
  
  
  
Summer closed the door quickly behind her, setting off down the hallway at a very fast pace. She slammed to a halt a few doors down, Seth almost running into her.  
  
  
  
"What?" She demanded.  
  
  
  
"Excuse me?" Seth looked confused.  
  
  
  
"You said you wanted to talk, TALK." Summer crossed her arms, her cheeks slightly pink.  
  
  
  
"Are you okay, Summer?"  
  
  
  
"I'm fine, Seth, you're the one who apparently has the problem. Go ahead, illuminate me." She said somewhat sarcastically.  
  
  
  
"O-kay, well, I wanted to talk about what happened last night." Seth said slowly.  
  
  
  
"Last night?" Summer shrugged.  
  
  
  
"Well, yeah." Seth turned slightly red.  
  
  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
  
  
"Well, you know, when we…kissed."  
  
  
  
Summer did a very good job of acting nonchalant.  
  
  
  
"Oh, that." She waved her hand dismissively.  
  
  
  
"Yes, that." Seth's eyes narrowed slightly. That was not a kiss you could just dismiss that easily.  
  
  
  
"What about it?"   
  
  
  
"Well, what was going on there?" Seth looked down at her.  
  
  
  
"You tell me, Geek Boy. You kissed me."  
  
  
  
"No, I didn't!" Seth said, shocked at how quickly she could lie about things.  
  
  
  
"Yes…you did." She said patronizingly.  
  
  
  
"Uh, no I didn't, but regardless, it was um…quite a kiss. And I was just wondering what you want to do now."  
  
  
  
"I don't want to DO anything. It was just something that happened, Seth. It didn't mean anything." Summer rolled her eyes.  
  
  
  
Seth groaned with exasperation.  
  
  
  
"Fine, you want to pretend like nothing happened, fine. You really are a bitch, Summer." Seth shook his head.  
  
  
  
"Yeah, well, you're a freak. I don't know what I was thinking last night. Thinking about kissing you again makes me want to puke." Summer said angrily, suddenly aware of how close she and Seth were standing.  
  
  
  
"Same here." Seth shot back.  
  
  
  
They stood there for a moment, looking at each other. At the exact moment, they stepped towards each other, their lips crushing together with an almost bruising intensity. A few minutes later, Summer broke away from him again, breathing heavily.  
  
  
  
"We tell NO ONE about this. Not Ryan. Not Marissa. NO ONE." She said, and then turned on her heel and disappeared back into her room, leaving a very stunned and confused Seth behind.  
  
~*~  
  
Put all your walls up and open your windows  
  
And close all your doors  
  
You find yourself standing in front of the mirror  
  
And now you need more  
  
What do you wish for  
  
To catch you as you're falling  
  
So easy to ignore  
  
But now you hear it calling again  
  
I wouldn't want to be you  
  
This lonely game that you play  
  
Between your walls you confuse  
  
Every heart that you break  
  
So afraid that you'll lose  
  
Always a void to replace  
  
I wouldn't want to play you  
  
You try and pretend, the truth is hard to bend  
  
How easy these translations can be read  
  
What if you were led to play a different game instead  
  
How hard these frustrations are to mend  
  
Does it matter to you?  
  
Just Wait  
  
A/N- Should I continue? Or just leave as a one-parter? Did ya'll like it, hate it, whatever? Let me know in a review please! 


	2. Throw Me Away

A/N- Wow guys! Thanks for all the great reviews! Here's Chapter Two!  
  
Disclaimer- All characters from The OC belong to Fox, the lyrics at the end belong to Phantom Planet's "Down in a Second"  
  
Chapter Two  
  
Throw Me Away  
  
~*~  
  
Summer came back into the hotel room slightly flushed. She slammed the door behind her, groaning with frustration and flopping down on the bed. Marissa came out of the bathroom at that moment, looking at her friend with raised eyebrows.  
  
  
  
"You all right?" Marissa asked, putting her wet hair up in a messy bun.  
  
  
  
"I'm fine." Summer said quickly.  
  
  
  
"Where's the drinks?"  
  
  
  
"Excuse me?"  
  
  
  
"You said you and Seth were getting drinks."  
  
  
  
"Oh…um, the machines were all sold out." Summer lied quickly.  
  
  
  
"Liar." Marissa grinned, flopping down on the bed next to her friend.  
  
  
  
Summer looked away.  
  
  
  
"Wait…is something going on with you and Seth?" Marissa smiled wider, looking at her friend in shock.  
  
  
  
"Oh, I'm sure. Me and Seth." Summer laughed, doing a very good job of sounding disgusted.  
  
  
  
"Well, is there?" Marissa prodded, giggling.  
  
  
  
"NO! Geez, Marissa, make me yak. Seth Cohen? Come on."  
  
  
  
"He's not that bad! And he's totally in love with you!" Marissa pointed out.  
  
  
  
"Where did you hear that?" Summer sat up, suddenly interested.  
  
  
  
"Ryan told me he talks about you all the time."  
  
  
  
Summer looked at her friend with astonishment.   
  
  
  
"He is not in love with me. And the thought of…anything going on with us…can we drop this subject? That would never, ever happen." Summer grabbed Marissa's thin shoulders as she spoke as if to reassure her.  
  
  
  
"All right, sorry. But you know if there was anything going on, you could tell me."  
  
  
  
"If there was anything going on with me and Seth, I couldn't tell you because I'd have killed myself." Summer said seriously.  
  
  
  
"You're so weird." Marissa laughed.  
  
  
  
Summer smiled back, turning around to get packed.  
  
  
  
"But I still maintain he's not that bad." Marissa said to Summer's back.  
  
  
  
"You date him then." Summer rolled her eyes.  
  
  
  
"I meant for you!" Marissa sighed, starting to get packed as well.  
  
~*~  
  
  
  
Seth zipped his suitcase, looking over at Ryan, who was happily eating mini-bar peanuts and watching TV.  
  
  
  
Seth sighed audibly. This was causing him physical pain to not tell anyone what had happened with Summer. Especially not being able to tell Ryan. He told Ryan everything. And now it had happened not once, but twice! And both initiated by her! He had to tell someone!  
  
  
  
"Is everything ok, buddy?" Ryan looked over at the irate Seth curiously.  
  
  
  
"Yes." Seth said melodramatically.  
  
  
  
"No, it's not." Ryan noticed immediately, turning to face his brother.  
  
  
  
"Okay, you're right."  
  
  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
  
  
"I…can't tell you." Seth said with resignation.  
  
  
  
"Why not?"  
  
  
  
"I've been sworn to secrecy."  
  
  
  
Ryan shrugged.  
  
  
  
"All right." And he went back to watching the TV.  
  
  
  
"You're not even going to pester me a little bit about it?" Seth said, very disappointed in Ryan's noisiness.  
  
  
  
"Not even a little bit." Ryan grinned, knowing this would drive Seth insane.  
  
  
  
Seth threw a shoe at Ryan in frustration.   
  
~*~  
  
  
  
"Let's hit the road." Ryan climbed into the driver's seat.  
  
  
  
"It is so cool your dad let us take the Rover." Marissa grinned at Seth, climbing into the passenger seat.  
  
  
  
Seth and Summer looked at each other, then at the rather cramped two seats left in the back. She narrowed her eyes as if to say "don't get any ideas" and climbed in. Seth put his hands up in mock-surrender, climbing in after her.  
  
  
  
It was a very long ride to the beach, and eventually everyone but Ryan fell asleep. Ryan turned on the radio to ensure that he wouldn't drift off also, and Marissa stirred at the sudden noise.  
  
  
  
"Oh, sorry." Ryan fumbled with the dial, quickly turning it off.  
  
  
  
"No, it's ok." Marissa smiled at him, stretching sleepily.  
  
  
  
She looked behind her at the other two occupants of the car, and suppressed a laugh.  
  
  
  
"Hey, check it out-" She motioned behind her.  
  
  
  
Ryan looked in the rearview mirror to see Summer sleeping soundly with her head on Seth's shoulder, his arm lazily draped over her shoulders.  
  
  
  
"Aww." Ryan grinned.  
  
  
  
"How sweet." Marissa agreed.  
  
  
  
"Summer's going to kick his ass when she wakes up." Ryan pointed out.  
  
  
  
"I don't know…she was acting really weird this morning whenever I mentioned Seth."  
  
  
  
Ryan looked at Marissa inquisitively.  
  
  
  
"Now that you mention it, Seth was acting really bizarre too. Kept saying he wanted to tell me something but that he was 'sworn to secrecy'." Ryan shrugged.  
  
  
  
Marissa raised an eyebrow at him.  
  
  
  
"No way." Ryan shook his head.  
  
  
  
"What? Maybe!" She laughed.  
  
  
  
"Summer and Seth? She'd never go for that."   
  
  
  
"You're probably right…still, it is a really funny thought that they're having like some kind of secret affair." Marissa giggled.  
  
  
  
Ryan laughed.  
  
  
  
"Yeah, maybe in Seth's mind." He grinned.  
  
~*~  
  
  
  
Summer jerked awake when Ryan parked the car at the beach parking lot. She realized she felt very warm and very comfortable and was surrounded with a very boy-ish scent. She blinked, taking in her surroundings and suddenly gasped. She had been sleeping on Seth's shoulder for the past two hours and his arm was resting comfortably around her. It felt kinda nice. But suddenly, she realized that Ryan and Marissa were looking back at them with sly grins.  
  
  
  
"Ew, Cohen! Get off of me!" She smacked him, sounding revolted.  
  
  
  
"Whuzzat…who…let go of the cheese cubes!" Seth mumbled sleepily, slowly waking up.  
  
  
  
"Wake up and stop molesting me, you freak!" Summer shuddered, quickly getting out of the car as Seth finally regained consciousness.  
  
  
  
"Morning, sunshine." He grinned drowsily at the enraged Summer.  
  
  
  
She rolled her eyes.  
  
  
  
"Let's go, Coop." She looked at Marissa desperately as Ryan went to the back to unpack the surfboards and towels.  
  
  
  
Marissa looked at her curiously as they walked towards the concession stand to get hot dogs for everyone.  
  
  
  
"So you two looked pretty cozy back there." Marissa smiled.  
  
  
  
"No we didn't and drop it now." Summer cut her off quickly.  
  
  
  
"Whatever you say." Marissa wiggled her eyebrows, looking suggestive.  
  
~*~  
  
  
  
"Pass the suntan lotion." Summer ordered Seth.  
  
  
  
"Want him to help you put it on?" Marissa said under her breath.  
  
  
  
Summer glared at her.  
  
  
  
"Shut up." She hissed back, grabbing the suntan lotion from Seth and angrily slathering it on her legs.  
  
  
  
Seth looked up as she did this, feeling his stomach flip. Summer had really nice legs.  
  
  
  
"It looks like it's about to rain." Ryan snapped him out of this line of thought suddenly.  
  
  
  
All four looked up at the rather threatening rain clouds overhead.  
  
  
  
"Now what are we supposed to do?" Summer whined.  
  
  
  
"We could just go to the beach house now." Ryan suggested.  
  
  
  
The Cohen's new beach house was the purpose of this entire road trip. Kirsten had designed and decorated it herself, and was anxious to have them try it out and see what they thought.  
  
  
  
"That's a good idea." Marissa agreed, starting to gather up all their things as light rain drops began to fall.  
  
  
  
"But our bags are still all in the car."   
  
  
  
"I'll go bring the car around to the beach house." Ryan offered.  
  
  
  
"I'll go with you." Marissa said quickly.  
  
  
  
"You guys get all the beach stuff and go ahead to the house. You have the key, right, Seth?"  
  
  
  
"Yeah…" Seth looked over at Summer, who had a very angry expression on her face.  
  
  
  
"Make it quick." Summer said to Marissa, folding up the towels as the rain started to fall harder.  
  
  
  
Marissa and Ryan walked off looking dreamily at each other, leaving Seth and Summer very much alone and in the pouring rain.  
  
  
  
"A stormy beach…kinda romantic, huh?" Seth said, smiling at Summer.  
  
  
  
"Maybe to gay poets or something." Summer rolled her eyes, walking off quickly.  
  
  
  
"What is your problem?" Seth caught up with her as they headed for the beach house just as thunder rolled overhead.  
  
  
  
"Nothing!"  
  
  
  
"Well, then why are you acting so weird?"  
  
  
  
"Because! I'm disgusted with myself! I can't believe I ever kissed you!" She practically yelled back to be heard over the quickly worsening storm.  
  
  
  
"Twice, actually." Seth pointed out.  
  
  
  
"Whatever! I'm losing my mind! I shouldn't want to kiss you EVER! This is insane! I think we have stumbled into some freaky Twilight Zone-universe where everything-"  
  
  
  
"You want to kiss me? Like now?" Seth interrupted her as they reached the porch of the beach house.  
  
  
  
"NO!"  
  
  
  
Seth looked at her for a long moment as they both stood soaking wet on the whitewashed porch.  
  
  
  
"Are you going to unlock the door or what?" Summer demanded, slightly flustered.  
  
  
  
"Sure, fine." Seth said, smiling at her slightly as he unlocked the door.  
  
  
  
"Finally." Summer sighed, and they both reached for the doorknob at the same moment, their hands brushing.  
  
  
  
A jolt of electricity seemed to shoot through both of them. They stood frozen for a moment, their eyes locked, their hands still touching.  
  
  
  
"Let's go." Summer broke the tension, mentally shaking herself.  
  
  
  
She did NOT want to kiss him.  
  
  
  
Not even a little.  
  
  
  
And definitely not a lot.  
  
  
  
Not even when he looked at her like he just had, like she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen in his entire life.  
  
  
  
No, she definitely did NOT want to kiss him then.   
  
~*~  
  
If you want to leave me  
  
If you want to just throw me away  
  
I'll be down in a second  
  
I'll be down in a second  
  
How come now it seems that you no longer care?  
  
How can I live a life that seems no longer fair?  
  
Have we noticed yet that this is not a game?  
  
A/N- Chapter Three is coming soon! Lots of reviews will only make it come faster! 


	3. Places You Fear

A/N- You guys are the best! Here's Chapter Three….  
  
Disclaimer- All characters from The OC belong to Fox, the lyrics at the end belong to Dashboard Confessional's "The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most."  
  
Chapter Three  
  
The Places You Fear  
  
~*~  
  
"This place is awesome." Seth observed, looking around the rather palatial beach house.  
  
  
  
"It's nice." Summer shrugged, toweling off her wet hair.  
  
  
  
"There's like eight bedrooms!" Seth laughed from the hallway as he explored.  
  
  
  
"Good. No more cramped living quarters. Seems to make me do very, very stupid things." Summer said, following him up the stairs.  
  
  
  
Seth didn't respond for a moment.  
  
  
  
"So you think what happened was a mistake?" He said in a surprisingly vulnerable voice.  
  
  
  
"Um…YEAH." Summer rolled her eyes, feeling a twinge of guilt at the look of hurt in his eyes.  
  
  
  
"Oh." Seth said simply, going into one of the rooms and closing the door rather forcefully.  
  
  
  
Summer sighed.  
  
  
  
"Come on, Seth. Don't get all Dawson's Creek on me here."  
  
  
  
Seth didn't respond. Summer tried the doorknob. It was locked.  
  
  
  
"Seth…" She whined.  
  
  
  
"Oh no, Summer, don't come in. You might make another 'mistake'. And you wouldn't want to do anything other than what people expect you to do. What would all your friends think?" Seth said in a very angry voice.  
  
  
  
"Okay, Seth, now you're just abusing sarcasm." Summer said, trying to ignore how close his words were hitting her.  
  
  
  
"Well, now we're both abusing something." Seth said in a very surly voice.  
  
  
  
"Cut the angst, Cohen! Could you BE any more melodramatic?"  
  
  
  
Suddenly, Seth flung the door open, making Summer jump.  
  
  
  
"You want to tell me you didn't enjoy it? Not even a little bit?" He was practically yelling at her.  
  
  
  
Summer's mouth hung open for a moment, too surprised to respond.  
  
  
  
"I don't know how I felt about it, Seth." She finally said in a small voice.  
  
  
  
Seth took a deep breath, seemingly steeling himself for something.  
  
  
  
"Well, then let me remind you." He finally said, in an adorably nervous voice.  
  
  
  
And then he kissed her.   
  
~*~  
  
  
  
"This storm's really getting bad!" Marissa shouted to Ryan as they struggled with all the bags through the sheets of rain.  
  
  
  
"I don't think I can drive through this-it better let up soon!" Ryan shouted back as they reached the porch and the noise died down slightly.  
  
  
  
"Or we might be stuck in a beach house with our best friends. Oh NO!" Marissa clapped her hands together with mock worry.  
  
  
  
Ryan grinned.  
  
  
  
"I guess that wouldn't be so bad."  
  
  
  
"You're so effusive." She smiled back, opening the front door.  
  
  
  
"Seth! Summer!" Ryan shouted, putting all their suitcases at the front door.  
  
  
  
No response.  
  
  
  
"Where are they?" Marissa looked down one hallway, then started to walk towards the stairs.  
  
  
  
"I hope they get here okay-"  
  
  
  
"Coop! Ryan! There you guys are!" Summer suddenly appeared out of one of the rooms down the upstairs hallway.  
  
  
  
"Hey, Summer-we were hoping you guys didn't drown in all this." Ryan motioned towards the window.  
  
  
  
"Nope, we're dandy." Seth appeared behind her from the same room, his voice a little shaky and his hair very disheveled.  
  
  
  
Ryan and Marissa looked at them for a moment, taking in their rather unkempt appearances.  
  
  
  
"What have you guys been doing?" Marissa asked, fixing Summer's hair automatically.  
  
  
  
"It's just the rain-you know my hair gets insane in bad weather." Summer smoothed down her hair, laughing a little too loud.  
  
  
  
"Okay." Marissa was looking at her best friend with that same dubious expression she had seemed to grow fond of using that day.  
  
  
  
"Let's unpack!" Seth clapped his hands together suddenly.  
  
  
  
"Great idea!" Summer nodded, hurrying downstairs.  
  
  
  
Ryan and Marissa were left alone for a moment. She looked at him, a smile forming slowly.  
  
  
  
"Marissa, seriously, no way." Ryan shook his head.  
  
  
  
"I think something's going on…" She said in a sing-song voice.  
  
  
  
Ryan just laughed, going downstairs to help with the suitcases.  
  
~*~  
  
  
  
Later that night, rain was still falling on the beach house as the four occupants slept soundly. Well, two of them anyway.  
  
  
  
Seth lay awake, reading the Legion comic he'd brought along for about the five billionth time. He still didn't actually process a word of it. He wondered if she was still awake. He wondered if she'd just deny everything again. But what had happened before Ryan and Marissa had come…he had never kissed anyone like that. He had never been kissed like that. Just thinking about it made a goofy smile spread across his face.  
  
  
  
Suddenly, there was a very soft knock on his door. Seth practically jumped off the bed to answer it, nearly tripping over Ryan's bed. He cracked the door open as quietly as possible, revealing Summer in plaid pajamas.  
  
  
  
"Hey." She whispered.  
  
  
  
"You look good in plaid." Seth replied, grinning goofily still.  
  
  
  
"Thanks-look, we really need to talk." Summer looked very serious.  
  
  
  
"All right, hold on." Seth slipped out the door, following her to the balcony outside of the game room.  
  
  
  
Summer closed the glass door behind them, turning to face him with her arms crossed and her eyes slightly glassy.  
  
  
  
"Are you okay?" Seth asked, concerned.  
  
  
  
"Yeah. I'm fine. It's just-this-us--it's really not going to work. It just can't happen."  
  
  
  
"Oh, okay. Except that it can." Seth responded flippantly.  
  
  
  
"No, it can't. You don't really know me, Seth. You don't know my father. He'd kill me if I ever-you know."  
  
  
  
"No, I don't know." Seth said, confused.  
  
  
  
"Don't be stupid, Seth! You know what I'm saying!"  
  
  
  
"NO I DON'T!" Seth was getting really frustrated.  
  
  
  
"I'm saying my family has expectations for me that you don't fit in! The Cohens are a joke to this whole neighborhood, everyone says your father just leeches off your mom's money and I mean, face it, you've never exactly been a part of us!"  
  
  
  
Seth looked as if she'd slapped him.  
  
  
  
"Seth, I'm sorry! You wanted the truth, there it is!" Summer was about to start crying.  
  
  
  
"I don't know what I was thinking…I-I'm the one who made the mistake." Seth stumbled slightly over his words as his quietly angry tone broke the very long silence that followed her declaration.  
  
  
  
Summer looked at the ground.  
  
  
  
"I always hoped that I was right about you. That you weren't just some superficial, spoiled, rich Newport bitch who didn't care about anything but what other people think. That's what everyone said about you, but I always told myself they were wrong. That there was more to you that you just never let people see, but that maybe I could find. But I'm the one who was wrong. That IS all you are, Summer." Seth started to walk away.  
  
  
  
"No, Seth, wait-" Summer said, her voice choking slightly.  
  
  
  
But he just kept walking, closing the glass door behind him.  
  
  
  
Summer was shocked when she couldn't hold back the tears anymore. She couldn't recall ever regretting anything she'd said to anyone, ever. But this was different. She couldn't believe it, but she would have given anything to take everything she'd said back. She remembered what it had felt like when he had kissed her, really kissed her just a few hours earlier.  
  
  
  
She had to make this right.  
  
~*~  
  
Buried deep as you can dig inside yourself,   
  
and covered with a perfect shell,   
  
Such a charming beautiful exterior  
  
This is one time  
  
That you can't fake it hard enough to please everyone or anyone at all   
  
And the grave that you refuse to leave   
  
The refuge that you've built to flee  
  
The places you have come to fear the most  
  
Buried deep as you can dig inside yourself,   
  
and hidden in the public eye.   
  
Such a stellar monument to loneliness  
  
~*~  
  
A/N- Don't worry, guys! It's ain't over until I say it's over between them! But please review and tell me what you thought, Ch. 4 is coming soon!! 


	4. Make It Right

A/N- You guys rock my socks-thanks for all the awesome reviews! Here's Chapter Four!  
  
Disclaimer- All characters from The O.C. belong to Fox and the lyrics at the end belong to Oasis' "Don't Go Away."  
  
Chapter Four  
  
Make It Right  
  
~*~  
  
Summer went back into the darkened bedroom, wiping the tear stains off her cheeks with the back of her hands as she crawled back into bed. This absolutely sucked. She looked over at her clock. 3:05 in the morning. Sighing, she rolled over with her face in her pillow. She couldn't remember the last time she'd cried.   
  
  
  
Summer suddenly realized she'd have to face Seth tomorrow, and under Ryan and Marissa's scrutiny. Joy. All she wanted was to be in her bed at home, and never have even come on this stupid road trip, and never have kissed Seth and started all of this.   
  
  
  
Summer sighed. Okay, that wasn't exactly true.   
  
~*~  
  
Seth stomped back to his room, suddenly having the very strong urge to hit something very, very hard. He wasn't a very violent guy (that was more Ryan's territory) but right now he felt like punching something or breaking something or yelling or something along those lines.  
  
  
  
But instead he decided to brood. He'd never really brooded before, but he was feeling very broody at the moment. So he flopped down in the window seat, and stared out at the softly falling rain. The waves on the beach were still having huge swells from the storm, and it created such a dark, intense scene that it only worsened his mood.  
  
  
  
Okay, so brooding=not helping.  
  
  
  
Maybe sleep would be better. But sleep would just make the morning come sooner. And THAT he was definitely not looking forward to.  
  
~*~  
  
  
  
"Summer! Geez, woman, get up!" Marissa giggled, shaking her best friend's shoulder.  
  
  
  
"No." Summer said, her face still buried in her pillow.  
  
  
  
"Ryan made cinnamon toast…" Marissa smiled, opening the door to the hallway so the smell of breakfast wafted up the room.  
  
  
  
"Yes, because I eat carbs SO often." Summer mumbled.  
  
  
  
"Oh, geez, not the pseudo-diet kick again. You only pull this when you don't want to go somewhere. What is the matter with you this morning?" Marissa looked at her with concern, opening the curtains just as Summer looked up.  
  
  
  
"Hey, Coop, remember when I had corneas?" Summer groaned.  
  
  
  
"Come ON!" Marissa rolled her eyes, practically dragging Summer out of bed.  
  
  
  
"You go ahead. I'm going to shower."   
  
  
  
"Fine, but I make no promises about there being toast left." Marissa grinned, finally leaving.  
  
  
  
Summer looked at herself in the bathroom mirror, and grimaced. Her eyes were still swollen and a little bloodshot. Her hair was insane. If she had to face him this morning, it would not be looking like this.  
  
~*~  
  
  
  
"Morning, all!" Marissa chirped, plopping down at the kitchen table.  
  
  
  
"Morning." Ryan smiled, sliding her a plate of toast.  
  
  
  
Seth just grunted, looking very tired as he swirled his cereal around with his spoon. He looked up the stairs, then back at Marissa.  
  
  
  
"Is Summer up?" He asked, doing a surprisingly good job of sounding casual.  
  
  
  
"Yes, but she's not exactly a morning person. I think she's taking a shower or something." Marissa shrugged.  
  
  
  
"Oh." Seth said simply, going back to stirring the cereal.  
  
  
  
"So what do we do today?" Marissa asked as Ryan sat down with them.  
  
  
  
"I was thinking just chill at the beach and go get dinner later tonight." Ryan suggested.  
  
  
  
"Sounds like a plan." Marissa agreed amicably, and they both looked at Seth.  
  
  
  
No reply.  
  
  
  
"Uh…Seth? Thoughts?" Ryan prodded.  
  
  
  
Seth jumped.  
  
  
  
"Sorry, what?" He looked up blankly.  
  
  
  
"Beach? Dinner? Sound like a plan?" Marissa explained.  
  
  
  
"Sure, whatever." Seth shrugged, pouring his milk out in the sink and practically stomping up the stairs.  
  
  
  
"Wow. I think I've discovered someone whose even worse than Summer in the mornings." Marissa commented, watching Seth go.  
  
  
  
"He's been acting moody all morning." Ryan nodded, spreading butter on his toast.  
  
  
  
"We have very surly best friends." Marissa said, smiling sadly.  
  
  
  
"Oh, well. We can still have fun. I'm in a very good mood currently." Ryan grinned at her.  
  
  
  
"Well, that's good. I'm not in a bad one either." Marissa took a bite of her toast, feeling suddenly very much like a morning person.  
  
~*~  
  
  
  
Seth reached the top of the stairs, sighing. The shower had just turned off. Great.   
  
  
  
The bathroom door opened just as he reached his room.   
  
  
  
"Seth." Summer said tentatively, standing there in nothing but a towel and looking the least bit self-conscious.  
  
  
  
Seth opened the door to his room, blatantly ignoring her and really not feeling bad about it.  
  
  
  
"Come on, you have to talk to me sometime." Summer said, following him.  
  
  
  
"Really? Why is that?" Seth suddenly said, turning to face her.  
  
  
  
"Because unless you really feel like telling Ryan and Marissa everything, we can't act all weird around them today!"   
  
  
  
"Oh, of course, because all that really matters is your precious reputation." Seth said bitterly.  
  
  
  
"Stop it. Don't twist my words around just because you're pissed off."  
  
  
  
"Yeah, Summer, I am pretty pissed off. And you're not exactly helping right now!"  
  
  
  
Summer took a deep breath, and Seth forced himself to keep looking only at her face. He was not going to get all…distracted and let her think that he wasn't mad anymore.  
  
  
  
"Look, I'm sorry, okay? All that stuff I said last night was completely out of line."  
  
  
  
Seth feigned shock.  
  
  
  
"Wow, a real apology? This must be a first for you."  
  
  
  
"I'm serious."  
  
  
  
"So am I. Apology accepted. Now go away."   
  
  
  
"What do you want me to do here, Seth?" Summer said, frustrated.  
  
  
  
"I know this is very confusing having a problem that daddy's money can't fix, but I'm not going to help you out here. Come talk to me when you actually have feelings. Oh wait-that would be never. So just don't talk to me."   
  
  
  
"Come ON, Cohen! I said I was sorry, and I meant it. It'd be nice if I could just take back everything I said last night, but I can't! What else do you want?"  
  
  
  
"You want to know what I want from you, Summer?"  
  
  
  
Summer didn't reply, waiting.  
  
  
  
"You really meant what you just said?"  
  
  
  
She nodded.  
  
  
  
Seth bit his lip slightly, looking down at her with a challenging expression.  
  
  
  
"Then prove it."  
  
  
  
And with that, he went back into his room.   
  
~*~  
  
I need more time  
  
Just to make things right  
  
Damn my situation  
  
And the games I have to play  
  
With the things caught in my mind  
  
I can't find the words to say  
  
All we seem to know is how to show   
  
The feelings that are wrong  
  
So don't go away, say what you say  
  
But say that you'll stay  
  
A/N- Well there you go! Chapter Four! Please leave me a review and let me know what ya'll thought! 


	5. Tidal Wave

A/N- Thanks again for all the reviews guys-how about the S/S kiss in "The Girlfriend?" The "I wish I was a mermaid…" part? Possibly the cutest thing ever. Anyways, here's chapter five!  
  
Disclaimer- All O.C. characters belong to Fox, the lyrics belong to Plumb's "Stranded."  
  
Chapter Five  
  
Tidal Wave  
  
~*~  
  
Summer was left standing there in a somewhat stupor. Prove it? What was THAT supposed to mean? She quickly went in the room after him.  
  
  
  
"What do you mean, prove it?" Summer said to Seth's back.  
  
  
  
Seth turned around, sighing.  
  
  
  
"Wow, you really are not good with this relationships thing." He said.  
  
  
  
"Like you're such an expert. Please." Summer rolled her eyes.  
  
  
  
Seth's jaw tightened slightly.  
  
  
  
"Okay, Summer, let me break this down for you. All I meant by that was that if you really want to take back all that crap you said last night, then show me that you mean it. Don't be all in denial about whatever's going on between us whenever something happens. Don't treat me like dirt whenever Ryan and Marissa are around. That's what I meant."  
  
  
  
"Oh."  
  
  
  
An awkward silence fell between them.  
  
  
  
"Seth?" Summer finally said.  
  
  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
  
  
"I can do that."  
  
  
  
"Really?" Seth grinned.  
  
  
  
"Sure, I'll give a mature relationship a try." Summer shrugged.  
  
  
  
"Awesome!" Seth smiled grew wider.  
  
  
  
They fell silent again.  
  
  
  
"So…we should kiss or something." She suggested.  
  
  
  
"Yeah, we most definitely should." Seth nodded.  
  
  
  
Both grinning, they stepped towards each other, their lips meeting in a sweet, long kiss. It had none of the weird desperation of the other times this had happened. Summer was shocked by how right this felt. This was Seth Cohen-the guy that she'd known since third grade but had mostly ignored for most of her high-school career. And here she was kissing him. Who knew?  
  
  
  
Suddenly, Seth deepened the kiss and Summer instantly responded. Where the hell did Cohen learn to kiss like this? It was amazing. And somehow, this simple kiss meant more than any random hookup from all of Holly's stupid parties. Summer had never really felt anything for those guys-this was the only kiss she'd ever had that she knew could be the beginning of something great.  
  
~*~  
  
  
  
"So, I guess we should go get Seth and Summer. They're probably both just upstairs looking sullenly out the window or something." Marissa giggled.  
  
  
  
"Most likely." Ryan agreed.  
  
  
  
But at that moment, both Seth and Summer came practically bounding down the stairs, equally wide grins on both their faces.  
  
  
  
"Hey, guys!" Summer flounced over to the counter, sitting up on it.  
  
  
  
"Hello, Happy Sunshine Twins." Marissa said, raising an eyebrow.  
  
  
  
"Let's hit the beach, baby!" Seth clapped his hands together.  
  
  
  
"Someone's feeling better." Ryan commented.  
  
  
  
"Better? I feel muy bien. That's a little multilingual action for ya, buddy. Something I learned in my "Me Time."   
  
  
  
Summer giggled.  
  
  
  
"Your "Me Time?" She asked.  
  
  
  
"Yeah, it's pretty much what I call the time I can't seem to fill with anything of importance. Except for learning Spanish. And yoga."  
  
  
  
"You do yoga?" Summer now looked horrified.  
  
  
  
"That's called sarcasm, hot stuff." Seth shook his head.  
  
  
  
"I hate to cut off this shameless flirting, but let's go!" Marissa grinned, but suddenly noticed that neither Seth nor Summer looked the least bit embarrassed at her accusation, just merely kept smiling goofily.  
  
  
  
They were so weird.  
  
~*~  
  
  
  
"Ahh, a primo beach spot." Seth said, as they laid out the four towels in the blazing California sun.  
  
  
  
Everyone agreed apparently, because all four were happily sunbathing moments later.  
  
  
  
"I love California." Summer said, putting on her sunglasses with a contented sign.  
  
  
  
"Yeah. It's pretty super keen." Seth agreed.  
  
  
  
"Please say you did not just use the words "super keen." Ryan shook his head.  
  
  
  
"I'm not ashamed." Seth shrugged, grinning.  
  
  
  
They all fell four into a comfortable silence.  
  
  
  
Which was suddenly, and abruptly broken by…  
  
  
  
"Seth?! Seth Cohen?"  
  
  
  
Seth sat up, looking around with confusion. Suddenly, his eyes fell on the speaker in a red bikini.  
  
  
  
"Anna! You're…here."  
  
  
  
Summer sat up in horror at this proclamation, to see that, indeed, Anna, Seth's insanely weird date to Catillion was standing in front of them and looking at Seth with an expression that made Summer bristle with anger.  
  
  
  
"I thought you were on a sailing trip." Seth said faintly.  
  
  
  
"Well, we just got back! Hey, Ryan, Marissa…" She looked at Summer as if try to recall her name.  
  
  
  
"It's Summer." She said through gritted teeth.  
  
  
  
"Oh, right. The girl who didn't have a date." Anna laughed.  
  
  
  
"That's me." Summer smiled falsely.  
  
  
  
"Well, it's great to see you again, Anna." Marissa said, trying to abate the weirdly tense situation that was forming.  
  
  
  
"Great to see you guys, too. Hey-Seth, call me later tonight, we can continue our comic book discussion over dinner or something." Anna whipped a pen out of her bag, writing her number down on a bewildered Seth.  
  
  
  
"Uh…sure." Seth said faintly, as she walked away with a smile.  
  
  
  
"Somebody's got a date…" Marissa said in a sing-song voice as Anna walked away.  
  
  
  
Summer looked over at Seth, who was still looking at the number on his arm. Summer was practically livid with anger. Who did Anna think she was, just waltzing up and demanding that Seth take her on a date? Summer felt something in the pit of her stomach that she had never really felt before-jealousy?  
  
~*~  
  
it's coming over you   
  
like its coming over me  
  
crashing like a tidal wave  
  
that drags me out to sea  
  
and I wanna be with you  
  
if you wanna be with me  
  
crashing like a tidal wave  
  
and i don't wanna be  
  
stranded  
  
A/N- Hope everyone liked! Please review! 


	6. Too Real To Fake

A/N- Sorry this update is long in coming guys, but here ya go!   
  
Disclaimer- The O.C. characters belong to Fox, the lyrics belong to Trapt's "New Beginning."  
  
Chapter Six  
  
Too Real To Fake  
  
~*~  
  
Seth and Summer sat in the kitchen at the beach house, eating waffles and trying to think of what exactly to say to each other. Ryan was taking a shower, and Marissa was in her room listening to music. So it was just the two of them and a very obvious question that neither of them wanted to voice.  
  
  
  
Finally, Summer had had enough. She forced her voice to sound casual.  
  
  
  
"So…Anna, huh?"  
  
  
  
"What about her?" Seth looked up at her, pushing a bite of waffle around in his syrup.  
  
  
  
"You going to call her?"  
  
  
  
Seth looked surprised.  
  
  
  
"Uh…no, I thought that-"  
  
  
  
"Because it's fine if you do. I don't care." Summer shrugged.  
  
  
  
Seth raised his eyebrows.  
  
  
  
"You don't?"  
  
  
  
"If you're just dying to go out with her, go right ahead." Summer said somewhat spitefully.  
  
  
  
Seth looked a little hurt.  
  
  
  
"So, it wouldn't bother you AT ALL if I went on a date with Anna tonight?"  
  
  
  
"No." Summer said stubbornly.  
  
  
  
"Summer." Seth said impatiently.  
  
  
  
"Do you want to go out with her?" Summer demanded.  
  
  
  
Seth looked up at her.  
  
  
  
"I won't call her if you admit that it would bother you if I did." He said, crossing his arms.  
  
  
  
"Don't play your freaky little mind games with me, Cohen. You do whatever you want." Summer threw the rest of her waffles away, stomping up the stairs.  
  
  
  
Seth looked after her, smiling slightly.   
  
~*~  
  
  
  
Summer slammed the door to their room, making Marissa look up with a start.  
  
  
  
"Aarrgh!" Summer flopped down on the bed next to her friend with an angry groan.  
  
  
  
"Uh, Summer, if you want to borrow my Midol, just ask." Marissa laughed.  
  
  
  
"Shut up." Summer rolled her eyes.  
  
  
  
"What's the matter?" Marissa rolled onto her stomach, looking at her friend.  
  
  
  
"Nothing. Just…nothing." Summer shook her head.  
  
  
  
"Come on, tell me." Marissa goaded.  
  
  
  
"No, never mind. It's nothing."  
  
  
  
"Um, yeah right."   
  
  
  
Summer pulled her hair back into a ponytail, sighing.   
  
  
  
"What do you think of that Anna girl?" She finally said.  
  
  
  
Marissa shrugged.  
  
  
  
"Besides a truly unfortunate haircut, she seems nice enough. Why?"  
  
  
  
"Just…I think she's kinda annoying, and I just was wondering what you thought."  
  
  
  
"She's okay, I guess. Perfect for Seth. I mean a girl who reads comic books? Come on."  
  
  
  
"Who cares if she reads comic books? How does that make her perfect for him?" Summer said.  
  
  
  
"Seriously, what's wrong?"   
  
  
  
"Nothing!! It's just, what was with her today? 'Oh, right. The girl who didn't have a date.' Summer mimicked Anna with an angry look on her face.  
  
  
  
"And she practically demanded Seth ask her out…I mean, how weird is that?"  
  
  
  
A look of shocked realization suddenly appeared on Marissa's face.  
  
  
  
"Do I detect…jealousy?" She asked, smiling.  
  
  
  
"No!" Summer said quickly.  
  
  
  
Marissa shook her head.  
  
  
  
"Whatever." She said with a small smile, putting her headphones back on.  
  
~*~  
  
  
  
The four of them sat around the dinner table later that night, eating pizza.  
  
  
  
"You know what we should do? There's a carnival on the boardwalk. That might be kinda fun." Marissa suggested.  
  
  
  
"Oh, yeah! I saw that driving in! We should go!" Seth agreed.  
  
  
  
"Don't you have a date?" Summer said bitterly, picking the pepperonis off her pizza.  
  
  
  
"No, I never called her." Seth said, looking up at Summer.  
  
  
  
There was a long silence.  
  
  
  
"So…carnival then?" Marissa said, trying to abate the tension.  
  
  
  
"Sounds great." Ryan agreed.  
  
  
  
Seth was still looking at Summer.  
  
  
  
"Summer, can I talk to you for a second?"  
  
  
  
"Sure. Talk away." Summer shrugged, not moving.  
  
  
  
"Alone?" Seth continued.  
  
  
  
Ryan and Marissa exchanged a look.  
  
  
  
"Fine, whatever, Geek Boy." Summer said, rolling her eyes and following Seth out of the kitchen.  
  
~*~  
  
  
  
"First of all," Seth spun to face her once they were in the entertainment room alone, "Stop calling me that. And second of all, what are you so pissed off about?"  
  
  
  
Summer didn't reply, just stood there with her arms crossed.  
  
  
  
"I didn't call her!" Seth said, throwing his arms out in frustration.  
  
  
  
"I know you didn't." Summer practically spat.  
  
  
  
"Then why are you mad?"  
  
  
  
"You wanted to call her." Summer said quietly.  
  
  
  
"No, I didn't!"  
  
  
  
"Yes, you did. I saw your face. You let her write down the number, you let her be all flirty, and you didn't do anything about it."  
  
  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry, was I supposed to wearing my "I'm With Summer" sandwich board? Because I thought that was a tad much." Seth shrugged.  
  
  
  
"Don't be a jerk." Summer rolled her eyes.  
  
  
  
"I'm not! You're the one who didn't want to tell anyone about us! So that's what I was doing!"  
  
  
  
"Do you like her?" Summer suddenly asked.  
  
  
  
Seth sighed dramatically. He took Summer by the upper arms, making her look at him.  
  
  
  
"Summer, listen to me. I've been in love with you since I was nine years old. I don't know why, but it's true. You've been the only person I ever wanted as my girlfriend since before I even liked girls. That's never going to change. So believe me when I say, you have nothing to worry about."  
  
  
  
Summer looked up at him, blinking quickly and hating herself for tearing up again. She was so damn emotional this week.  
  
  
  
"You are officially impossible to stay mad at." Summer smiled, kissing him.  
  
  
  
When they broke apart, Seth tucked her hair behind one ear.  
  
  
  
"So we're okay?" He said, smiling.  
  
  
  
"We're okay… when did you get so suave, Cohen?" Summer grinned.  
  
  
  
"I've always been suave somewhere deep down; just never had anyone to be suave for." Seth shrugged.  
  
  
  
"Well, now you do."   
  
  
  
"Now I do." Seth smiled back.  
  
~*~  
  
  
  
"Man, this place is really wild." Seth said sarcastically, taking a big bite of cotton candy.  
  
  
  
"Yeah, no kidding. All this ballon-buying and face-painting…it's out of CONTROL." Marissa grinned.  
  
  
  
"I hate clowns." Summer grimaced when they passed by one selling balloons.  
  
  
  
"Me too. It's like, dude, you can not be THAT happy all the time." Seth nodded.  
  
  
  
Ryan laughed, smiling happily. He had never actually been to a carnival growing up, but he decided not to tell them that. He always felt like he was fishing for sympathy whenever he spoke of his childhood.  
  
  
  
"You okay, Ryan?" Marissa looked at his suddenly stoic expression.  
  
  
  
"Yeah…yeah, just thinking." Ryan said quickly.  
  
  
  
"I gotta pee." Summer said suddenly.  
  
  
  
"Thanks for sharing." Marissa shook her head.  
  
  
  
"Sure. Where's the bathroom?"   
  
  
  
"I think over there." Seth pointed behind the Ferris wheel.  
  
  
  
"All right, I'll be right back." Summer hurried off.  
  
~*~  
  
  
  
Summer washed her hands, fixing her hair from her reflection in the slightly dingy mirror. Suddenly, the stall door behind her opened.  
  
  
  
"Hey, Summer."   
  
  
  
It was Anna. Summer felt her fists clench her sides.   
  
  
  
"Is Seth here?" Anna asked, fixing her make up at the sink next to Summer.  
  
  
  
"Yes." Summer said through gritted teeth.  
  
  
  
"Great!" Anna smiled, going to walk out the door.  
  
  
  
"Anna, wait." Summer said suddenly.  
  
  
  
Anna turned to face her, looking confused.  
  
  
  
"What?"  
  
  
  
"We need to talk."  
  
  
  
"About what?" Anna looked disinterested.  
  
  
  
Summer took a deep breath. She realized this would be the first person she had said anything to about her and Seth. She realized that Anna would tell other people, and it would probably get back to all the friends Summer had worked so hard to impress. But suddenly, she just didn't care.  
  
  
  
"It's about Seth. And me." Summer began.  
  
~*~  
  
The pressure is building I want to break away  
  
Motivation is lacking the point starts to fade  
  
I look to the bottom still empty still the same  
  
I'm waiting for something to show me the way  
  
To the path that I should take, it's just too real to go ahead and fake  
  
Every step that I make  
  
Name your price I would give anything  
  
I've seen too many throw it away  
  
Do I see just one small chance to be myself to try and make it last  
  
~*~  
  
A/N- Please leave me a nice, long review! The next chapter is coming shortly-don't forget about the summer finale of The O.C. this Tuesday, I've heard there's a lot of Seth/Summer! 


	7. Tearing Down Your Walls

A/N- Hey guys! How 'bout that season finale? Could they ACT anymore like an old married couple? Hehe, that was great. All right, here's chapter seven!  
  
Disclaimer- All The O.C. characters belong to Fox, the lyrics belong to Summer Donna's "Tearing Down The Walls."  
  
Chapter Seven  
  
Tearing Down Your Walls  
  
~*~  
  
Anna raised an eyebrow.  
  
  
  
"You and Seth?"  
  
  
  
"Seth and me." Summer reiterated, suddenly losing her nerve a little bit.  
  
  
  
"You and Seth?" Anna repeated, a look of shocked comprehension dawning on her face.  
  
  
  
"Wow, is there an echo in here?" Summer laughed nervously, tucking her hair behind her ears.  
  
  
  
"Talk, Summer." Anna demanded.  
  
  
  
"Okay, well, here's the thing. Leave Seth alone." Summer said this all very quickly.  
  
  
  
Anna snorted with disbelief.  
  
  
  
"Excuse me?"  
  
  
  
"Did I stutter? Leave…Seth…alone."  
  
  
  
Anna crossed her arms.  
  
  
  
"Why should I?"  
  
  
  
Summer took a deep breath.  
  
  
  
"Because…because Seth and I are kind of…together."  
  
  
  
"Oh really?" Anna rolled her eyes.  
  
  
  
"Yes really."  
  
  
  
"That was made so abundantly clear when I asked him out right in front of you."  
  
  
  
"We were having issues. But now we're not. So basically, um, back off."  
  
  
  
"I don't believe you. I have no idea why you're lying about this, but Seth would never date you."  
  
  
  
"Why is that?' Summer was instantly in defensive mode.  
  
  
  
"Because you're a rich spoiled brat who practically exemplifies every stereotype he hates."  
  
  
  
"Oh, because you know him SO well."   
  
  
  
"I understand him better than you ever could."  
  
  
  
"That's not true! I have known Seth Cohen since we were eight years old, and you talked to him for what, like, three hours? Don't ever pretend like you know him or understand him or love him like I do, because it's not true! You just think you know him because he likes your stupid comic books and because you have the same haircut! Please! You don't even-"  
  
  
  
"Summer?" Marissa had entered the bathroom with a stunned expression on her face.  
  
  
  
"H-Hey, Coop." Summer looked at her friend, still breathing heavily from her rant.  
  
  
  
"They sent me to find you-let's go." Marissa said, looking from her best friend to a stunned Anna.  
  
  
  
"Point taken?" Summer said, looking at Anna again.  
  
  
  
"Uh, yeah. See you at school, I guess." Anna still looked a little shaken from Summer's outburst as she shuffled out of the bathroom.  
  
  
  
"Wow." Marissa commented, looking at Summer.  
  
  
  
"Rage blackouts." Summer shrugged.  
  
  
  
"I know, sweetie. You really should see someone about those."  
  
  
  
Summer laughed.  
  
  
  
"Okay, but whoa? What were you saying when I came in? You love...Seth?" Marissa held Summer at arm's length, demanding an answer.  
  
  
  
"I don't know-I kinda freaked and didn't know what I was saying." Summer backpedaled quickly.  
  
  
  
Marissa raised her eyebrows.  
  
  
  
"All right, maybe. I don't know. But, yes, there's something going on between us and I should have told you, I'm sorry, Coop-"  
  
  
  
Marissa burst out laughing.  
  
  
  
"What's so funny?" Summer demanded.  
  
  
  
"Nothing…just Ryan's going to die. I was SO right." She giggled.  
  
  
  
Summer smiled.  
  
  
  
"Ready to head back outside to your lovaaa?" Marissa laughed.  
  
  
  
"Shut up." Summer hit her arm as they stepped outside, both smiling.  
  
~*~  
  
  
  
"You know what's weird?"  
  
  
  
"What's weird?"  
  
  
  
"Funnel cakes."  
  
  
  
"How so, Seth?"  
  
  
  
"Well, they're just weird. I mean, what exactly goes into the making of a funnel cake? No one knows, no one ever questions them, it's just like, "ooh, hey, a funnel cake, yum, I don't care if it's made from pig intestines."  
  
  
  
"Pig intestines?"  
  
  
  
"Maybe! You don't know." Seth pointed out, emphasizing his point by holding up a gooey mass of funnel cake goodness.  
  
  
  
"Hey, guys." Marissa and Summer sat down next to them, also digging into the mysterious funnel cake.  
  
  
  
"Hey, stop with the funnel cake hoarding." Summer smiled, scooting closer to Seth.  
  
  
  
"I like funnel cake."  
  
  
  
"Me too!"  
  
  
  
"You don't like funnel cakes. They have carbs…maybe." Seth considered this for a moment, shrugging.  
  
  
  
"You're going to get some funnel cake in the face if you don't share." Summer threatened.  
  
  
  
"Bring it on, baby." Seth looked at her, raising an eyebrow.  
  
  
  
Summer giggled, going to smear it on his face when he caught her hand, stopping her inches from him. They both started to lean towards each other, their lips inches apart.   
  
  
  
"Oh, get a room." Marissa giggled, breaking the tension between them instantly as they sheepishly pulled apart.  
  
  
  
Ryan looked incredibly confused.  
  
  
  
"Oh, right. Ryan, I was right and Seth and Summer are dating. So first of all, HAH. And second of all…okay, I got nothing except HA again." Marissa smiled triumphantly.  
  
  
  
Ryan looked at Seth and Summer.  
  
  
  
"Cool." He shrugged.  
  
  
  
"That's it? Cool? That's all we get?" Seth shook his head.  
  
  
  
"Ryan's a man of few words." Marissa smiled, patting his shoulder.  
  
  
  
"Oh, well. I'd probably get the same reaction if I told him Saturn Girl wanted to marry him." Seth grinned.  
  
  
  
The two guys laughed at what was obviously an inside joke, and Marissa and Summer looked very confused.  
  
  
  
"Saturn Girl?" Summer asked.  
  
  
  
"Comic book stuff." Seth explained.  
  
  
  
"Okay, if we're going to date, that's gotta stop." Summer shook her head.  
  
  
  
"You'll never change me!" Seth said mock-dramatically.  
  
  
  
"We'll see." Summer grinned.  
  
  
  
Seth raised an eyebrow.  
  
  
  
"I'll give up comics if you never, EVER say "ew!" again. About anything."  
  
  
  
Summer looked back at him defiantly.  
  
  
  
"Comic books- eww!" She pronounced, crossing her arms.  
  
  
  
"Fine, fine, I'll accept your flaws if you accept mine."  
  
  
  
"Deal." She smiled, kissing his cheek.  
  
~*~  
  
Emotion got me where I'm with him  
  
It's so hard to get to your heart  
  
Fascination you know it brought me to you  
  
Satisfaction makes me want to  
  
Want to start by tearing down the walls  
  
Tearing down the walls around your heart  
  
Tearing down the walls  
  
Tearing down the walls around your heart  
  
I know I'm only getting so close  
  
I see you're up on your guard  
  
Secrets I wanna get to know those  
  
'Cause down deep I'm after your heart  
  
~*~  
  
A/N- All right, reviews please! The O.C. returns on Oct. 30th! YAY! 


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